Don't give up on Celtics

It's time to give up on the ancient and aching Boston Celtics, who are two games under .500 heading into All-Star weekend.

The graying Green have too many accumulated years and not enough talent on the roster to win an 18th NBA title, so the time has come to start trading players to legitimate contenders to begin building for the future.

That's the way a lot of people think about the Celts.

I don't happen to be one of them.

I'm willing to give the venerable Big Three, plus mercurial young point guard Rajon Rondo, one last chance in this crazy -- and not just because of "Linsanity" -- season in which too many games are being crammed into too few days.

It's a schedule that doesn't suit the Celts, who sorely need their rest.

They're clearly struggling at the moment, having lost five in a row, including two to the last-place (in the Central Division) Detroit Pistons and another to the Toronto Raptors.

The Celtics' most recent setback was a 119-104 blowout (they trailed by 27 in the second half) Wednesday night in Oklahoma City to the rolling Thunder, who are 27-7 and comfortably leading the Northwest Division.

The Celtics, on the other hand, are in the uncomfortable position of being in eighth place in the Eastern Conference -- the final qualifying spot for the playoffs. They're two games under .

Advertisement

500 at 15-17 and third in the Atlantic Division, behind the Sixers and the New York Lins -- I mean Knicks -- who are the hottest story, not merely in basketball, but in all of sports right now.

The Celtics, clearly, are not-so-hot right now.

It hasn't helped that Kevin Garnett missed two games in the losing streak because of a family matter, nor that Rondo has been suspended for two games for flipping the ball at an official in Detroit in a moment of petulance and immaturity. That Rondo still has too many of those moments at age 26 is another cause of concern for the Celts.

On the topic of age, we all know that Garnett is almost 36, the same age as Ray Allen, and that Paul Pierce is 34.

No one would argue that the Big Three are past their prime, both individually and collectively. Whether they also are over Beacon Hill, Bunker Hill or any other hill that you care to name remains to be seen.

That will be determined in the playoffs.

Assuming, of course, the Celtics make the playoffs.

Which is no guarantee, considering they've played 19 home games so far and only 13 on the road in a grueling schedule that's a result of last year's labor issues.

We knew going into this shortened season that the schedule was going to be problematic, even for teams with young legs, much less the creaky Celtics.

Because this was going to be a different season, the goal would be different, too.

More than ever, it would be important for the Celts to pace themselves.

The idea would be to win enough games to qualify for, as football coach Bill Parcells always liked to call the NFL's postseason, "the tournament," without running themselves into the ground and, consequently, taking themselves out of the running come playoff time.

Just get in, then see how far you can go.

Being in top form in May, when the playoffs get under way, is more important than looking good in January or February.

Which is not to say that games frittered away in midwinter don't count every bit as much as those lost down the stretch come spring.

But neither can the Celts afford to be beaten up when the playoffs begin.

There are those who say it won't matter what shape the Celtics are in if they barely slip into the playoffs and have to face either the Heat or the Bulls in the opening round.

Those people may have a point.

But if you're Miami or Chicago, do you really want to face a veteran Boston team that's peaking for the playoffs?

A case could be made that it's better for the Celts to face those teams early on in the playoffs, when they're fresh, rather than later.

Despite their recent woes, there's still hope that the Celtics, like Lin, can come out of nowhere and stun the rest of the league.

Do they appear to be good enough to go all the way, to add yet another championship banner to the 17 already hanging from the Garden rafters?

Honestly, no.

But if they get into the playoffs, as I expect they will, then the Heat and the Bulls may be more worried about the Celtics than you are right now.

Welcome to your discussion forum: Sign in with a Disqus account or your social networking account for your comment to be posted immediately, provided it meets the guidelines. (READ HOW.)
Comments made here are the sole responsibility of the person posting them; these comments do not reflect the opinion of The Sentinel and Enterprise. So keep it civil.

ODESSA, Texas (AP) — A West Texas man has been charged with impersonating an officer by using sirens and flashing lights to skip to the head of the drive-thru line at a fast-food restaurant. Full Story

Sufjan Stevens, "Carrie & Lowell" (Asthmatic Kitty) Plucked strings and pulsing keyboards dominate the distinctive arrangements on Sufjan Stevens' latest album, and in the absence of a rhythm section, they serve to keep time. Full Story